Board of Apportionment sets public hearing schedule for legislative district lines

The Arkansas Board of Apportionment has set a series of public hearings to discuss the redrawing of legislative district lines.

Every 10 years, the board – which consists of the Governor, Attorney General and Secretary of State – are charged with redefining the 100 Arkansas House seats and 35 Arkansas Senate seats in accordance with new U.S. Census data. The goal is to ensure equal representation by population per district.

The eight hearings are slated for late July through late August. They will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the following locations and dates:

Thursday, July 29
University of Arkansas at Monticello
Fine Arts Center
371 University Dr.
Monticello, AR 71655

Tuesday, Aug. 3
ASU Mountain Home
The Sheid
1600 S. College St.
Mountain Home, AR 72653

Thursday, Aug. 5
Shewmaker Center for Workforce Technologies
Walmart Auditorium
1000 SE Eagle Way
Bentonville, AR 72712

Tuesday, Aug. 10
U of A at Hope – Hempstead Hall
2500 S Main Street
Hope, AR 71801

Thursday, Aug. 12
Phillips County Community College
Fine Arts Center – Community Room
1000 Campus Road
Helena, AR 72342

Tuesday, Aug. 17
Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center
Reynolds Room
800 N 50th St.
Fort Smith, AR 72904

Thursday, Aug. 19
Embassy Suites by Hilton
Jonesboro Red Wolf Convention Center – ASU
223 Red Wolf Blvd
Jonesboro, AR 72405

Tuesday, Aug. 24
Jack Stephens Center
2801 S University Ave.
Little Rock, AR 72204

Republicans control the redistricting process for legislative and Congressional lines for the first time in modern history. Betty Dickey, former Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court, was named coordinator of the Board of Apportionment in early June.

“The Board’s goals in redistricting are as follows: creating districts that are substantially equal in population, geographically contiguous and compact; preserving cores of existing districts and communities of interest; recognizing geographic boundaries; and, ensuring redistricting is not based on racial gerrymandering or political partisanship,” she said.

For comments, questions or suggestions, comment forms will be provided at each meeting, or one may be filled out online at arkansasredistricting.org.

The hearings will also be live streamed on ARCAN at the following link:
https://www.myarkansaspbs.org/arcan/home